Drop
by Scroll Keeper
Summary: After rescuing her from yet another kidnapping, our hero finally gives up the idea of being with the woman he loves. Predictably, the senorita has a few things to say about his decision. Is loosely based on Disney Zorro.


Title: Drop. . .

Summary: After rescuing her from yet another kidnapping, our hero finally gives up the idea of being with the woman he loves. Predictably, the senorita has a few things to say about his decision. Is loosely based on Disney Zorro.

Disclaimer: Not my characters except one. But I probably shouldn't be too eager to claim him since he is most likely indistinguishable from thousands of characters out there acting as necessary foils for thousands of canon protagonists out there. No monetary profit is being made off this story.

* * *

 **Drop. . .**

The boy looked to be no more than nineteen or twenty years old and was clean shaven. He was as threatening as a little pig lost in the woods. Perhaps that was the reason she did not struggle harder against the large tree holding her captive.

"Let her go."

That was said in a quiet, menacing voice. The boy swayed, almost off his feet. Then he must have remembered that he was the one with power, the one with the bargaining tool: her.

"Stay back! You will do as I tell you or-" He waved his knife in her general direction. "-she suffers."

It was wise of the boy to not come near her. Because, bond or no bond, she would make him regret picking her as his tool.

Almost faster than the eye could see, a whip lashed out. The knife taken care of, the boy soon followed, tied up neatly by a spare rope.

The woods cried. Or rather, the wildlife did. She chuckled, somehow felt charmed to be away from civilization, despite her near predicament, the rope previously binding her cut to ribbons around her feet.

All too soon, reality intruded. Without a word to her (not even, "Are you all right?"), her savior gestured for her to go first. She was sure the boy didn't comment on that rude conduct only because his mouth was gagged.

After seeing her back to town (for, she presumed, he did not wish to make her kidnapper aware of where she lived), her silent savior left for a while, presumably to deliver the boy to someone. Perhaps his parents, if such people still existed. Giving him to the garrison soldiers would be tantamount to throwing him to the hungry wolves.

Her savior returned a few hours later. Somehow, he managed to find her, even though she was at an old well a bit out of the way and not at the tavern where they last saw one another. She wondered if his always finding her was destiny. Or perhaps that majestically black cape of his contained some sort of navigational tool. She almost smiled at that unromantically practical thought of her hero.

His face grave, he asked how she was. Airily, she said she was no worse off. Not noticing her unnaturally light mood, he simply nodded, his expression unreadable.

But she persisted in breaking the uncomfortable silence. They were both tense from the earlier event and needed loosening up. "How about you? What happened with our young kidnapper?" She tried to inject some lightheartedness into her voice, resolutely forgetting that she herself was only a few years older.

"He is where he belongs, where he will be no more trouble."

Her face fell. His tone was clipped and final. If she was under any illusion that they were getting closer, she had her eyes open now. He had no intention of telling her what had transpired. That should alert her to the fact that their relationship was not going to...

"...I have decided not to accept the amnesty."

...survive.

She huddled into herself.

Cold. So cold. So methodical. So matter-of-fact.

Was he even human? Had he no understanding of how much he hurt her with his heartless declaration?

"You no longer wish to be with me?" She was proud that her voice was steady and revealed none of the storm raging inside her.

For a moment the remote look in his eyes shattered, revealing something more alive and warm. Somehow, she took no pleasure in cracking his hardened shell.

"I am not free to follow my heart," he said in that emotionless voice she came to hate. At that moment, she was not certain he even possessed that organ he claimed he could not follow.

Besides, what kind of answer was that? Hardening her own heart, she straightened her spine. He would not escape evading her that easily.

"You have not answered my question. Do you or do you not wish to be with me?" She could not quite match his coldness, but she strived to make her voice free of strong emotions.

The blank emotionless mask came over his face again. "My wish has no place in this decision."

She saw the red haze behind her eyes, but it was too late to shut her mouth. "So you are going to sacrifice us on the altar of duty? Is that it?" Her fists...her entire body was shaking so badly she was in danger of falling.

"My people need me. I have no time for a relationship."

She whipped her head toward him so fast she almost felt whiplash. "Do not give me that! Your people always need you, long before I came along. And you always had time for me up until now."

As she thought, he had no answer to her charges. He held himself aloof and unapproachable, but she wondered if he was as unaffected as the image he tried very hard to project.

She let out a breath. This was not going to work if they were both focusing on their own hurts. Someone had to try to reach out, to bridge the distance.

"What happened?" she asked, softening her tone. "We were happy together until I unwisely allowed myself to be kidnapped...again." She added a small smile at the last part.

Her attempt at lightening the mood was not at all appreciated. Or rather, it was not acknowledged. He let out several breaths in rapid succession, the first sign that he was not quite as composed as he would like her to believe. "What do you wish me to say? That I do not wish to part with you?" He spread his arm into a half arc in her direction. "If you are with me, we will never be safe. The villains can always use you to get me to do something for them."

That was not without truth, but she was desperate by this point. "Oh, so your motive is a selfish one, then? You are only concerned that I will become your responsibility?"

 _Say no, please. Say you need me. Say you love me._

As she loved him. Oh, god. She was in deep trouble if he did not return her feelings.

No. He did return them, but for some reason, the self-sacrificing fool was going to make them all miserable.

He swept a gaze over her. "You are a burden if you persist in staying with me."

She felt her face go numb. A burden was worse than a responsibility. He did not even believe in what he said, so it was doubly cruel of him to wound her so.

Summoning her strength, she allowed an impersonal mask on her face. "A burden, am I? You fail spectacularly, Senor. Even if I am not with you, a prospect I am very much cherishing at the moment, there is no guarantee that some enterprising villains will leave me alone. I can never truly be safe whether I am with you or not." _You endangered me when you singled me out to be your senorita, and dissolving that relationship is not going to take away the risk. Can't you understand that?_

Apparently, the dolt could not. "I see now that I have to be plain," he said in the same cold voice he had been using. "My only great love, if you could call it that, is being in the Fox's skin." As if to suit his monologue, his eyes now took on a feverish light. "I do not expect you to understand the freedom, the thrill, the excitement, the rush, the danger that come with being chased from the law. And do not think you are special, Senorita." Here he gave her a smile that, while it did not mar what she could see of his handsome face, was very much patronizing. "You are not the first woman I kissed, and I doubt you will be the last, so don't embellish those interludes to be something they are not. In fact, try to forget me, as I will forget you."

She reeled back, as if he had physically pushed her. Staggering against the old well, she clutched at her chest. God, she thought she was past the pain now, but this, he stabbed in the knife, twisted it, and left the blade sticking through her bleeding heart.

She should slap his face. She should. Then he would feel a fraction of her pain. But, no. He had a thick-skinned face that could lie so handily, so her slap would never hurt him.

Her head held high, she turned and marched away. Tears threatened to fall, but she resolutely forced them back. No one would get any satisfaction of seeing her cry.

"Senorita."

There was a faintest plaintive note in his voice. She hardened her still bleeding heart. _You had your one chance to make your bed, Senor, now go lie in it!_

* * *

"Are you all right?"

She looked over at her friend, ensconced on the stone seat near her. Her safe friend. The one she loved as a brother. The one waiting for her at her hacienda. The one refusing to go inside even though the wind was blowing and rain was probably imminent.

"No." Seeing the concern in his dark eyes, she touched his hand and continued, "but there's nothing I could do about it."

"I am sorry," he said in a soft voice, as if he held himself responsible for her feeling. "Well, perhaps I could do something." His eyes lit up, as they usually did whenever he managed to contrive some enterprising schemes. "Have dinner with my father and me, won't you? The tavern just hired a new cook."

Despite her rotten mood, she giggled. He looked so adorable when he mentioned the cook. "There is no guarantee that a new cook will also be a good cook."

"That is true," he admitted with a little chagrin. "But as someone who has been living on tavern food during the past few weeks, I'm sure there aren't many hurdles for the new cook to overcome."

"You're right. Thank you. I accept your kind invitation."

He shook his head - almost fondly, it looked to her. "What? No more argument? What have you done with my headstrong friend?"

It was her turn to shake her head. "Even headstrong persons cannot be that way all the time, Senor. We need energy to sustain us."

"Energy?"

She laughed. "Food, Senor. My energy supplies need replenishing, so that I can keep up."

He furrowed his brow. "Keep up with what?"

She rather thought the question was unintentional. Almost as if he could not stop himself.

So she could not stop herself either. "With someone intending on pushing me away for my own good. Or perhaps for their own good. That person apparently fails to notice the difference."

His eyebrows rose higher. "And this person thought they had a chance of pushing you away? They must not like staying alive very much!" He gave a delicate shudder.

She couldn't stop her slight scowl, even though she knew he was only teasing her. But then his mouth curved into a beautiful smile, the smile she despaired of ever seeing again. So all was right with her world at the moment.

"It would be nice if that person is half as intelligent as you are." She looked him in the eye. "You would not push me away, would you?"

"I would not dream of doing so, Senorita." He put one hand over his heart, all solemn and serious with his vow.

"All right. We'll have our dinner, then a walk around the park. Can you give me that much?" she asked, feeling bold.

"Even better, we'll have our walk among the stars." He gestured expansively at the sky above them.

She craned her neck up. He was right. She had not noticed when the wind had slowed down. The sky was still overcast, but the clouds started to disperse, clearing the sky for a beautiful night of twinkling stars.

Reaching for his hand, she entwined her fingers with his. A pleased smile appeared on his face as he gave her hand a light squeeze.

Oh, she was still bitter. But a dinner invitation appeared to be the right approach to clearing her overcast mind. Whether anything more could happen, only destiny would know.

The End

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Author's Note: Thank you for reading my story. Hope you enjoyed if you made it to the end. :)

That being said, I don't know exactly what the point of this little fic is. There seems to be this unresolved feeling to it, but the story refuses to go on. I'm okay with the ending I have, but for readers who prefer every plot point resolved, that ending is probably far from ideal. Oh, well. It's obvious that I haven't been writing for some time.

If by some chance you're interested, the third installment of "Heart of Illusion" is still inconsistently plodding along. I just wanted to say I didn't neglect that fic in order to work on this one. But I sure wish "Heart of Illusion" is as easy to write.


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